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General railway discussions

Allandale25 said:
www.railwayage.com

UPDATED: CP Hydrogen Locomotive Pilot Powered by Ballard - Railway Age

Canadian Pacific (CP) will use fuel cell modules from Ballard Power Systems for its first hydrogen fuel cell (HFC)-powered linehaul freight locomotive.
www.railwayage.com www.railwayage.com
Click to expand...
Six 200 kw modules equates to about 1600 hp, which is enough power for a smaller roadswitcher or yard unit but far from a full scale freight locomotive, which runs around 4400 hp.

It's a promising start, but as I have commented elsewhere, no one should declare victory and expect a fullscale conversion to hydrogen anytime soon. This is strictly a test bed - baby steps first.

- Paul
 
Bordercollie said:

Building safer communities: Minister of Transport orders measures to further reduce the risk of serious rail accidents - Canada.ca

The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that communities across the country are safe and secure.
www.canada.ca www.canada.ca

Wouldn't the dead man's pedal stop the train if the train started to roll down the hill with nobody in the cab?
With a crew of 2, why would there be a need for both crews to leave the train at the same time?
Click to expand...

If there is air. The way I understand it, that was the problem at Lac Megantic; the engine shut down eliminating the air and there weren't enough hand brakes set to hold the consist on the grade. I don't know what the details are regarding the recent Goderich incident.
 
Bordercollie said:

Building safer communities: Minister of Transport orders measures to further reduce the risk of serious rail accidents - Canada.ca

The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that communities across the country are safe and secure.
www.canada.ca www.canada.ca

Wouldn't the dead man's pedal stop the train if the train started to roll down the hill with nobody in the cab?
With a crew of 2, why would there be a need for both crews to leave the train at the same time?
Click to expand...

Deadmans’ Pedals are obsolete, more likely the locos had Reset Safety Controls which are an electronic device that notices if the controls haven’t been touched for a period of time and intervenes to apply the brakes. Same principle, but they only activate after a period of inactivity, where the old deadman’s pedal starts to activate the moment the pedal is released.
The press release implies (this is my interpretation, not proven fact) that the accident investigation found that the brakes had been released inadvertently. The most plausible explanation for this is that the crew member may have snagged the brake lever on their body or clothing as they left the control stand to work on the ground. In the cramped confines of a licomotive cab, that’s easily done. The brake valve lever is very prominent, and brake valves are one of the bulkiest components in the cab. The lever releases in the direction that aligns to that explanation. The RSC would activate eventually, but not soon enough.
There have been attempts to redesign locomotive control stands over the years... these have largely failed, and tradition has sometimes won out over ergonomics. So the control stand still retains many attributes from the days of steam locomotives. Brake valves are placed for easy maintenance and for ease of reach while running...which places them in the way.
As to why an engineer would leave the cab.... if the track device that needs operating is adjacent to the licomotive, and the other crew member is at the other end of the train, it gets work done faster.

- Paul
 
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crs1026 said:
Deadmans’ Pedals are obsolete, more likely the locos had Reset Safety Controls which are an electronic device that notices if the controls haven’t been touched for a period of time and intervenes to apply the brakes. Same principle, but they only activate after a period of inactivity, where the old deadman’s pedal starts to activate the moment the pedal is released.
The press release implies (this is my interpretation, not proven fact) that the accident investigation found that the brakes had been released inadvertently. The most plausible explanation for this is that the crew member may have snagged the brake lever on their body or clothing as they left the control stand to work on the ground. In the cramped confines of a licomotive cab, that’s easily done. The brake valve lever is very prominent, and brake valves are one of the bulkiest components in the cab. The lever releases in the direction that aligns to that explanation. The RSC would activate eventually, but not soon enough.
There have been attempts to redesign locomotive control stands over the years... these have largely failed, and tradition has sometimes won out over ergonomics. So the control stand still retains many attributes from the days of steam locomotives. Brake valves are placed for easy maintenance and for ease of reach while running...which places them in the way.
As to why an engineer would leave the cab.... if the track device that needs operating is adjacent to the licomotive, and the other crew member is at the other end of the train, it gets work done faster.

- Paul
Click to expand...
Would the engineer hear the brake valve release before he existed the train if his clothing go caught on the brake leaver?
Whats the distance the train rolled before almost crashing off the pier? The emergency brake didnt have enough time to apply it's self as it rolled all the way down the hill?
Doesn't add up to me.
 
Bordercollie said:
Would the engineer hear the brake valve release before he existed the train if his clothing go caught on the brake leaver?
Whats the distance the train rolled before almost crashing off the pier? The emergency brake didnt have enough time to apply it's self as it rolled all the way down the hill?
Doesn't add up to me.
Click to expand...

Good points, and I wondered the same. I’m trying not to speculate, but the TC blurb does lean this way.

I can think of scenarios, but I don’t know the facts, so won’t go further.


- Paul
 
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Hi all

I had a general question. I was standing by a GO station the other day waiting for my train and the VIA train went quickly by as it was not scheduled to stop at this location. It had me wondering if there are any speed restrictions in Canada for when a train is passing a station that it does not plan at stopping at. I did some Google searches and I was able to find Transport Canada's definitions for the different types of speeds and their maximum (ie. Divererging, limited, medium, clear etc). But I could not find if there was any requirement for trains to only proceed at say limited speed for example when passing a station. I understand that trains operate based off a subdivision timetable. But I have been told that there is only zone speeds and Permanent slow orders. And no restrictions with regards to this case. I am wondering if anyone has any insight. Thanks!
 
Railgrad said:
Hi all

I had a general question. I was standing by a GO station the other day waiting for my train and the VIA train went quickly by as it was not scheduled to stop at this location. It had me wondering if there are any speed restrictions in Canada for when a train is passing a station that it does not plan at stopping at. I did some Google searches and I was able to find Transport Canada's definitions for the different types of speeds and their maximum (ie. Divererging, limited, medium, clear etc). But I could not find if there was any requirement for trains to only proceed at say limited speed for example when passing a station. I understand that trains operate based off a subdivision timetable. But I have been told that there is only zone speeds and Permanent slow orders. And no restrictions with regards to this case. I am wondering if anyone has any insight. Thanks!
Click to expand...
There is no regulation regarding speed while passing platforms in the CROR. There are rules regarding train operation while passing platforms, however (bell ringing, lights dimmed, etc.).

Individual railways may take it upon themselves to create their own internal regulations - for instance, UPX trains are only allowed to pass high-level platforms at 10mph - but that is not enforceable by TC.

Dan
 
smallspy said:
There is no regulation regarding speed while passing platforms in the CROR. There are rules regarding train operation while passing platforms, however (bell ringing, lights dimmed, etc.).

Individual railways may take it upon themselves to create their own internal regulations - for instance, UPX trains are only allowed to pass high-level platforms at 10mph - but that is not enforceable by TC.

Dan
Click to expand...
Interesting. I wonder if this will change at all once we expand to see more regional express rail in the GTA and therefore higher speed trains, higher frequency, more trains bypassing certain stations etc. Thanks for the info Dan.
 
Railgrad said:
Interesting. I wonder if this will change at all once we expand to see more regional express rail in the GTA and therefore higher speed trains, higher frequency, more trains bypassing certain stations etc. Thanks for the info Dan.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's likely. There seems to be no current move towards it, and frankly the freight railways will freak out due to the loss of productivity. (So will VIA, but TC doesn't really care much about what they have to say.)

Dan
 
Always nice to see a short line get a new customer.

Screenshot_2021-03-17_181501.jpg
 
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